DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for February 16 2011

DC COMICS

JUL100282 ALL STAR SUPERMAN COLLECTORS SET $45.00

DEC100196 BATMAN #707 $2.99

OCT100273 BAYOU TP VOL 02 (RES) $14.99

DEC100230 BOOSTER GOLD #41 $2.99

DEC100170 BRIGHTEST DAY #20 $2.99

FEB100291 DC CHRONICLES WONDER WOMAN STATUE $99.99

DEC100167 DC UNIVERSE ONLINE LEGENDS #2 $2.99

DEC100210 DETECTIVE COMICS CLASSICS $5.99

DEC100293 DMZ #62 (MR) $2.99

NOV100272 DMZ TP VOL 09 MIA (MR) $14.99

DEC100231 DOOM PATROL #19 $2.99

DEC100296 FABLES #102 (MR) $2.99

OCT100307 FRINGE TALES FROM THE FRINGE TP $14.99

OCT100305 GEARS OF WAR HC BOOK 02 (MR) $24.99

APR100305 GOTHAM CITY STORIES STATUE PART 4 HARLEY VS ROBIN $99.99

NOV100188 GREEN LANTERN #62 (BRIGHTEST DAY) $2.99

DEC100176 GREEN LANTERN CORPS #57 (BRIGHTEST DAY) $2.99

DEC100301 HELLBLAZER #276 (MR) $2.99

NOV100270 HUMAN TARGET SECOND CHANCES TP (MR) $19.99

DEC100221 JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #54 $2.99

DEC100229 LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #10 $2.99

MAR100328 MICHAEL KEATON AS BATMAN STATUE $195.00

OCT100316 NOCHE ROJA HC (MR) $19.99

NOV100176 OUTSIDERS #36 $2.99

DEC100285 RATCHET AND CLANK #6 (OF 6) $2.99

DEC100236 SPIRIT #11 $2.99

DEC100214 SUPERGIRL #61 $2.99

DEC100218 SUPERMAN BATMAN #81 $2.99

NOV100234 SUPERMAN BATMAN TORMENT TP $14.99

DEC100274 TINY TITANS #37 $2.99

NOV100186 WONDER WOMAN #607 $2.99

DEC100270 YOUNG JUSTICE #1 $2.99

Marvel Comics from Diamond Distributors for February 16 2011

MARVEL COMICS

DEC100573 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #654.1 $2.99

AUG100532 ASTONISHING X-MEN XENOGENESIS #5 (OF 5) $3.99

DEC100670 AVENGERS & INFINITY GAUNTLET GN TP $14.99

DEC100549 AVENGERS ACADEMY #9 $2.99

SEP100687 CAPTAIN AMERICA BY JACK KIRBY OMNIBUS HC $74.99

DEC100554 CAPTAIN AMERICA MAN OUT OF TIME #4 (OF 5) $3.99

DEC100684 CAPTAIN AMERICA SCOURGE OF UNDERWORLD TP $34.99

AUG100679 CAPTAIN AMERICA SENTINEL OF LIBERTY HC $34.99

DEC108013 CARNAGE #1 (OF 5) 2ND PTG CRAIN VAR (PP #955) $3.99

DEC108014 CARNAGE #2 (OF 5) 2ND PTG CRAIN VAR (PP #955) $3.99

DEC100590 DAREDEVIL REBORN #2 (OF 4) $3.99

DEC100675 DEADPOOL MERC WITH A MOUTH TP VOL 01 HEAD TRIP $34.99

DEC100632 DEADPOOLMAX #5 (MR) $3.99

DEC100695 ESSENTIAL THOR TP VOL 03 NEW ED $19.99

DEC100532 FORMIC WARS BURNING EARTH #1 (OF 7) $3.99

DEC100626 GENERATION HOPE #4 $2.99

DEC100593 HAWKEYE: BLIND SPOT #1 (OF 4) $2.99

DEC108015 HEROES FOR HIRE #2 2ND PTG WALKER VAR (PP #955) $2.99

DEC100576 HULK #30 $3.99

DEC100669 INVINCIBLE IRON MAN PREM HC VOL 06 STARK RESILIENT BOOK 2 $19.99

DEC100582 IRON MAN MAGAZINE #6 $6.99

NOV100578 IRON MAN RAPTURE #4 (OF 4) $3.99

OCT100628 LOKI #3 (OF 4) $3.99

DEC100628 MARVEL GIRL #1 $2.99

DEC100660 SHADOWLAND DAREDEVIL PREM HC $19.99

DEC100598 SHIELD #6 $2.99

DEC100604 SILVER SURFER #1 (OF 5) $2.99

DEC100575 SPIDER-GIRL #4 BIG $2.99

DEC100689 SPIDER-MAN GAUNTLET VOL 05 LIZARD TP $14.99

DEC100676 SPIDER-WOMAN TP AGENT OF SWORD $19.99

DEC100656 STAND HARDCASES PREM HC $24.99

SEP100688 THOR AND LOKI HC BLOOD BROTHERS $24.99

DEC100601 THUNDERBOLTS #153 $2.99

DEC100621 UNCANNY X-FORCE #5 $3.99

DEC100606 VENOM DEADPOOL #1 $2.99

DEC100613 WOLVERINE #6 $3.99

DEC100614 WOLVERINE & JUBILEE #2 (OF 4) $2.99

DEC100698 WOLVERINE BY MARKO DJURDJEVIC OVERSIZED POSTER $34.99

AUG100692 X-FORCE PREM HC FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH $29.99

DEC100663 X-MEN CURSE OF MUTANTS PREM HC $24.99

IDW from Diamond Distributors for February 16 2011

IDW PUBLISHING

DEC100380 ANGEL #42 $3.99

DEC100389 DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS #4 $3.99

DEC100400 EDGE OF DOOM #4 $3.99

DEC100346 GI JOE COBRA II #13 $3.99

NOV100350 GI JOE SPECIAL MISSIONS TP VOL 03 $19.99

DEC108147 INFESTATION #1 (OF 2) VAR CVR 2ND PTG (PP #956) $3.99

DEC100371 JERICHO SEASON 3 #4 (OF 6) $3.99

DEC100354 KILL SHAKESPEARE #1 100 PENNY PRESS ED $1.00

DEC100424 LONE JUSTICE TP VOL 02 $19.99

DEC100417 PLANE STORY TP $19.99

NOV100387 SILENT HILL PAST LIFE #4 (OF 4) $3.99

DEC100412 THE SUICIDE FOREST #3 (OF 4) $3.99

DEC100340 TRANSFORMERS INFESTATION #2 (OF 2) $3.99

DEC100370 TRUE BLOOD HC VOL 01 ALL TOGETHER NOW (MR) $24.99

Dark Horse from Diamond Distributors for February 16 2011

DARK HORSE COMICS

OCT100041 FINDER GN VOL 01 VOICE $19.99

SEP100112 HEART TRANSPLANT LTD ED HC $99.99

DEC100063 LET ME IN CROSSROADS #3 (OF 4) SEAN PHILLIPS CVR $3.99

AUG100022 MAGNUS ROBOT FIGHTER #3 (OF 4) $3.50

DEC100073 MASS EFFECT EVOLUTION #2 (OF 4) MASSIMO CARNEVALE CVR $3.50

DEC100066 MIGHTY SAMSON #2 $3.50

DEC100069 STAR WARS KNIGHT ERRANT #5 (OF 5) AFLAME $2.99

NOV100045 TARZAN THE JESSE MARSH YEARS HC VOL 08 $49.99

Image Comics from Diamond Distributors for February 16 2011

IMAGE COMICS

DEC100438 CAPTAIN WONDER 3D ONE-SHOT $4.99

DEC108124 INFINITE VACATION #1 (OF 5) 2ND PTG (PP #956) $3.50

SEP100535 MAGDALENA (ONGOING) #5 $3.99

DEC100482 MARINEMAN #3 $3.99

DEC100483 MEMOIR #2 (OF 6) $3.50

DEC100470 MORNING GLORIES VOL 01 FOR A BETTER FUTURE TP $9.99

DEC100488 PROOF ENDANGERED #3 $3.99

DEC100526 TWILIGHT GUARDIAN #2 (OF 4) $3.99

DEC100452 WALKING DEAD WEEKLY #7 (MR) $2.99

Comics and Magazines from Diamond Distributors for February 16 2011

COMICS

OCT100837 10TH MUSE VS LEGEND OF ISIS #1 (OF 2) $3.99

DEC100804 28 DAYS LATER #20 $3.99

NOV108215 ALEX TOTH ADVENTURES JON FURY IN JAPAN SPECIAL ED $11.00

DEC100739 ARCHIE & FRIENDS #152 $2.99

NOV100730 ARCHIE NEW LOOK SERIES TP VOL 05 GOODBYE FOREVER $10.95

DEC100742 BETTY & VERONICA DOUBLE DIGEST #188 $3.99

DEC100869 BOYS #51 (MR) $3.99

DEC090806 BUCK ROGERS HC VOL 01 FUTURE SHOCK BEATTY SGN ED $39.99

DEC100715 CAVEWOMAN HUNT #2 (MR) PI

SEP101220 CHARMED #6 A CVR SEIDMAN $3.50

SEP101221 CHARMED #6 B CVR PHOTO $3.50

DEC100734 CYCLOPS #4 (MR) $3.95

DEC100832 DARKWING DUCK #9 $3.99

NOV100849 DEVILS TRAIL #1 (OF 4) (MR) $3.99

DEC101016 DISNEY FAIRIES GN VOL 01 PRILLAS TALENT (O/A) $7.99

DEC100834 DONALD DUCK #363 $3.99

DEC100930 DORK TOWER COLL TP 04 LIVIN LA VIDA DORKA (NEW PTG) $15.95

DEC100932 DR BLINK SUPERHERO SHRINK TP VOL 01 (NEW PTG) (O/A) $14.99

OCT100841 FAME DANICA PATRICK $3.99

MAR100721 FATHOM BLUE DESCENT #2 CVR A SCOTT CLARK $2.99

OCT100842 FEMALE FORCE SARAH PALIN PT 2 $3.99

DEC100864 GARTH ENNIS JENNIFER BLOOD #1 (MR) $3.99

DEC101113 GFT PRESENTS NEVERLAND #7 (OF 7) A CVR QUALANO (RES) $2.99

DEC101114 GFT PRESENTS NEVERLAND #7 (OF 7) B CVR CUMMINGS (RES) $2.99

SEP100943 GREEN HORNET YEAR ONE #8 $3.99

SEP101212 GRIMM FAIRY TALES #55 A CVR EBAS $2.99

SEP101213 GRIMM FAIRY TALES #55 B CVR QUALANO $2.99

NOV101094 GRIMM FAIRY TALES BLOOD BATH COLL $3.99

DEC100836 INCREDIBLES TP VOL 05 TRUTH & CONSEQUENCES $9.99

NOV101001 JOE KUBERT READER TP $25.00

NOV101023 JOHNNY RED HC VOL 01 FALCONS FIRST FLIGHT (RES) $19.95

NOV101100 LAON GN VOL 04 $11.99

DEC100841 MICKEY MOUSE #305 $3.99

AUG100839 NANNY & HANK #3 $3.99

SEP100855 NANNY & HANK #4 $3.99

OCT100811 NIGHT O/T LIVING DEAD #3 (OF 5) (MR) $3.99

OCT100812 NIGHT O/T LIVING DEAD #3 (OF 5) GORE CVR (MR) $3.99

OCT100813 NIGHT O/T LIVING DEAD #3 (OF 5) WRAP CVR (MR) $3.99

NOV100850 PHINEAS & FERB EARLY COMIC READER #4 ITS ABOUT TIME $4.99

SEP100857 POLITICAL POWER BILL O REILLY $3.99

OCT100970 ROBERT JORDAN WHEEL OF TIME EYE O/T WORLD #8 $3.99

OCT100848 ROGER CORMAN PRESENTS DEATHSPORT #2 $3.99

AUG100783 SCOURGE #3 CVR A ERIC BATTLE $2.99

AUG100784 SCOURGE #3 CVR B NICK BRADSHAW $2.99

DEC100983 SEEKERS KALLIKS ADVENTURE GN VOL 01 $6.99

NOV101068 SHONEN JUMP MARCH 2011 $4.99

DEC100800 SIMPSONS COMICS #175 $2.99

DEC100750 SONIC UNIVERSE #25 $2.99

DEC100824 STAN LEE SOLDIER ZERO #5 $3.99

NOV101020 TANK GIRL BAD WIND RISING #2 (OF 4) $3.99

SEP101026 TWILIGHT O/T A-HOLES GN $28.99

DEC100965 UPTIGHT #4 (RES) $3.95

NOV100855 VAMPIRELLA #3 $3.99

OCT100850 VINCENT PRICE PRESENTS #25 (MR) $3.99

MAGAZINES
OCT101253 GOTHIC & LOLITA BIBLE #36 (NOTE PRICE) $33.00
OCT101254 HOBBY JAPAN JAN 2011 (NOTE PRICE) PI
DEC101130 JUXTAPOZ #122 MAR 2011 $5.99
NOV101152 SCI FI & FANTASY MODELLER VOL 20 $26.95
NOV101165 SFX #205 $9.99
DEC101195 STAR TREK MAGAZINE #32 SPECIAL NEWSSTAND ED $9.99
DEC101196 STAR TREK MAGAZINE #32 SPECIAL PX ED $9.99
NOV101153 STEAMPUNK MODELLER VOL 01 $28.95

Leroy Douresseaux on Andy Diggle's RAT CATCHER

RAT CATCHER

DC COMICS/VERTIGO

WRITER: Andy Diggle

ARTIST: Victor Ibañez
LETTERS: Jared K. Fletcher
COVER: Lee Bermejo
ISBN: 978-1-4012-1158-5; hardcover
184pp, B&W, $19.99 U.S., $22.99 CAN

I recently read my first Vertigo Crime graphic novel. Released a few weeks ago, it is entitled Rat Catcher. It’s a graphic novel from writer Andy Diggle (The Losers, Hellblazer) and Spanish artist Victor Ibañez, with black and white art. If my count is right, this is the sixth graphic novel released under the “Vertigo Crime” umbrella – the crime graphic fiction shingle of Vertigo, an imprint of DC Comics.

Rat Catcher is the first Vertigo Crime comic book that I’ve read, so I can’t say how much it is like the earlier releases. What I can say is that Rat Catcher isn’t crime fiction in that Donald Westlake/Jim Thompson way or even in that Raymond Chandler/Dashiell Hammett way. Rat Catcher is a crime thriller, or more specifically an FBI thriller.

Rat Catcher largely takes place in West Texas, the “badlands of West Texas,” as the story and advertising for the book emphasize. A white supremacist, drug lord named Earl Rawlins rules supreme. Rawlins has just had an informant in his drug distribution system killed, and that killer is someone known as the “Rat Catcher.” The Rat Catcher is sort of like a boogeyman story for FBI agents, a mysterious figure who kills people about to enter the Witness Protection Program after informing on Rawlins.

The chase begins in a burning Federal safe house with a pile of burning bodies inside. Soon two FBI Special Agents, William Lynch and Moses Burdon, are separately on a race to discover the truth. All the players in this game carry secrets, one more deadly than the others.

In a quote for Rat Catcher, Ian Rankin, a novelist who wrote the Vertigo Crime graphic novel, Dark Entries, says that “Moral ambiguities abound.” Not really. In Rat Catcher, murder comes in two flavors: those who got it coming and those who are merely victims. This fast paced narrative focuses on shocking twists and turns and the sudden impact of a bullet, so it doesn’t have time for ambiguity.

Rat Catcher feels like an action movie more than it does crime fiction of the prose or comic book variety. This is not a criticism. Diggle drops his readers into a clever ruse, and then, delivers the action movie thrills better than some action movies do. Although his storytelling is good, artist Victor Ibañez seems almost hard-pressed to keep up with Diggle’s blood-fueled death race with his chunky graphic style. I do feel a bit shitty about saying this: Ibañez isn’t a perfect fit for this story.

I don’t know what other Vertigo Crime comic books are like, but I wonder if they raise hell like Rat Catcher.

B+